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Google’s new service will show G Suite users information they need when they need it.
Google is wooing enterprise customers with the forthcoming launch of a service that will let employees find information they need from multiple sources.

Cloud Search is a new service that will allow users to find content from their company email, cloud storage and directory. Directory lookup provides users not only with their colleagues’ contact details, but also information about shared files and calendar events. More than that, Cloud Search is also built to proactively help users access information they need.

Cloud Search was first announced last year as Springboard, alongside a revamped Google Sites. The company is building more tools and features like Cloud Search that are designed to appeal to larger businesses as part of a push spearheaded by Google Cloud chief Diane Greene.

Users will only see files in Cloud Search that they’re allowed to, based on the sharing permissions attached to them. That way, someone from the marketing team can’t see a company’s HR records.

Right now, the service is designed to only work with files stored inside Google’s cloud, but the company is working to also integrate Cloud Search with third parties. Expanding the integrations available is a critical update, Andrews said.

Box looks like a strong contender for such an integration. The enterprise cloud storage company announced last year that it is working with Google to let joint customers store files from the company’s Docs, Sheets and Slides productivity software inside their Box accounts.

Andrews said Google didn’t necessarily have to expand Cloud Search’s functionality to on-premises storage, but doing so would keep it from being useful to a group of customers who still rely on keeping files stored in their own data centers.

What will be interesting to see is how Cloud Search evolves alongside Microsoft’s Delve product for its Office 365 customers, which is also supposed to help business users find relevant files that are shared with them. Both Microsoft and Google are locked in a tight battle to become the company that powers the productivity stack of companies in the future.